3D Outpost 1 Buildings

[White Claw]

Hey Fellas...

It's been a while since I've posted on here. I was on and off IRC for a bit too, but had to take a break. One of the things that got me thinking about this forum again (and hence, I found my way back) was that I was looking for a small project to work on. Then I come to see that Leeor is working on OutpostHD (which is looking awesome!).

So originally I thought I would work on an Op1 remake (of sorts), but I don't want to undercut Leeor's work...so I'm not really sure what this project might turn into. I suppose for now, I'm just fiddling around...but I wanted to share some of the stuff I did over the last couple days.



In the background of this shot, you can see the first few models I made (tubes, agridome, storage, receiver) for scale. Once I worked out the general scale, I started working on some higher quality models that were built in a common scale. They don't have proper textures yet since I'm still working out the overall style. One thing I noticed right off the bat: Most things in Op1 are rather round, except the CHAP. That really threw me off because it's a lot more angular and much more white than the tubes, agridome, etc...

They also come with some lighting, though there isn't much in the way of night-time in Op1.




Like I said, I'm not really sure where I'm headed with this. Though I think, for the moment, I'm in the process of recreating some of the cover art. (There's no CHAP in this though, but like I said...it was different and was throwing me off a bit so I figured it was a good model to have at the start.)

[White Claw]

Here's a little bit of a closeup. The details on the tubes are a bit clearer, and some of the texturing on the agridome.



As I'm building, I'm realizing this is probably a bit of overkill, given the usual scale of game view. I was originally aiming for a bit more texturing on the buildings, but given that most of the view would probably be from way up, it's likely to be a waste of time/effort. (Unless I add some kind of "first person" view so you can walk/drive around the base. Then it'll be a bit more LOD work.)

[lordpalandus]

Looks interesting. Will the textures be changed at some point to be more metallic, than plastic as it is currently?

[Hooman]

Interesting. Very interesting.

The ground texture seems noticeably lower resolution than the buildings. It feels a bit jarring. Plus the single repeated texture is really obvious and attention grabbing. Have you tried to mix things up randomly with 2 or 3 ground texture tiles? Could you increase the resolution of the ground tiles a bit?

[White Claw]

Will the textures be changed at some point to be more metallic, than plastic as it is currently?

Yes, likely. Once I start to get happy enough with the model progression, I will start working on the shaders. They need some better texturing also, though I'm in the process of deciding how I want to go about that.

The ground texture seems noticeably lower resolution than the buildings.

You are indeed correct, there needs to be a bit more quality. I've only done enough work on the ground texture to simply have a texture (and only one currently). I've been focused on the buildings first, to establish a sense of scale. Ideally there would be several tiles for each smoothness "tier." i.e. three to five each impassible, rough, etc... (Originally I was stealing the smooth stone texture from Minecraft, but figured I'd whip up something quick.)

[White Claw]

I had a little time to fiddle tonight. Still needs proper textures, but I improved the tile terrain a little and started messing with the textures and lighting.



Something that's starting to bother me is the extensive use of gray on the buildings. There's definitely a grayish/blueish/coppery/greenish theme on these things. I might have to get creative on the details.

[leeor_net]

Hey, White Claw. Was just wondering where you might have run off to!

The models are looking good! One thing I want to point out about the CC is that it's almost too round and the comm dish is a little large. Something more realistic would have several comm dishes.

As far as OutpostHD is concerned, I don't think you're stepping on toes here. I don't know the nature of what you're doing but suffice it to say OutpostHD is intended to be a 2D isometric game vs. 3D. I suppose I could do 3D but I don't really want to. I think it takes away from the game. There's a certain charm to the limits of 2D rendering that can't be recreated in 3D so that's the direction I'm taking with it.

To address the rounded nature of the buildings you mentioned, while the strategy guides and such don't go into any detail about it, if you think about the strength of the shape of an egg, that's why many of the buildings are rounded. It's a very strong structure shape. The CHAP I think was intended to stick out from the rest but, I dunno, ultimately it's a game and there needs to be differentiation between the buildings. In reality I think all structures would look pretty much the same just with different internal arrangement and function with few variations externally. This would be to keep the structures easy to build and repair -- same parts means you don't need a lot of different fabrication tools.

Anyway, I digress -- this is, after all, just a game.

[White Claw]

I don't know...The command center is fairly round in the limited source pictures. Though I always thought it was a bit bland for the most necessary building in the game. The dish is a large, mainly to make it discernable at further viewing distances.

That's part of what I'm struggling with right at the moment. If the typical view will be higher from above (like the classic 2D isometric), then a lot of the detail is not necessary.

[leeor_net]

I suppose that's up to you. My thinking is this -- if you're going to go 3D, take full advantage of what 3D has to offer like in Roller Coaster Tycoon 3. Allow the user to zoom in and from just about any angle. Why not? You'll need some additional detail to make the colony appear to be alive in that case... maybe robots moving around the exteriors performing repairs, etc. Or maybe leave that for cut-away type deals for the building interiors, something I thought of doing for OutpostHD but ultimately decided against.

[White Claw]

Allow the user to zoom in and from just about any angle.

It's currently set up that way. The view there is zoomed in all the way. I suppose I could post a picture of it zoomed out all the way. And the camera can be panned around 360 degrees.

maybe robots moving around the exteriors performing repairs, etc.

I hadn't quite thought about that, actually. Well, I thought maybe in terms of seeing people similar to how sims can be seen walking around Sim City, but that didn't seem to fit. I've also been trying to remain practical about my time and capabilities in accomplishing something. (Though right now I'm still looking for a goal...)